1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for displaying graphic information, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer controlled display system for editing a multi-media production.
2. Art Background
Over the past decade, a variety of graphic user interfaces have been developed to ease human interaction with computer systems. Many display systems utilize metaphors in the design of the interface as a way of maximizing human familiarity, and conveying information between the user and the computer. It is common for computer systems incorporating so-called "object oriented" display systems to utilize multiple "windows" on a display in which combinations of text and graphics are disposed. The display systems utilize familiar metaphors, such as desktops, control panels, notebooks and the like, such that the interface takes advantage of existing human mental structures to permit a user to draw upon the metaphor analogy to understand the requirements of the particular computer system.
It is well known that designing around a familiar metaphor helps reduce human learning time. (See for example, Patrick Chan, "Learning Considerations in User Interface Design: The Room Model", Report CS-84-16, University of Waterloo Computer Science Department, Ontario, Canada, July, 1984, and the references cited therein.) The ability to operate on images or objects which relate the user to actual objects on, for example, a desktop, results in a stronger man-machine interface. (See for example, D. Robson, "Object Oriented Software Systems", BYTE, August 1991, page 74, Vol. 6, No. 8; L. Tesler, "The Smalltalk Environment", BYTE, August 1981, page 90, Vol. 6, No. 8; and Smith, et al., "Star User Interface: An Overview", National Computer Conference, 1982. A number of these interfaces have received patent protection over the past ten years (See for example, J. Blatt, "A Primer on User Interface Software Patents"; The Computer Lawyer, April 1992, Page 1, Vol. 9, No. 4).
Research in interface design using metaphors in man-machine interfaces may be applied to computer controlled editing systems to incorporate and integrate various production media resources, such as special effects, music, graphics and the like. In the case of an editing system, a variety of resources must be integrated, scheduled and coordinated with one another to obtain a complete multi-media product. Users of computer controlled editing systems are generally familiar with the individual resources and the coordination of those resources to develop a finished product. Accordingly, the "windows" utilized in a video editing system may be designed such that the metaphor of the interface takes advantage of the knowledge of the user in operating discrete devices (for example, a video tape recorder or music synthesizer). The window may, therefore, take the form of a control panel for the video tape recorder, which includes the controls of play, reverse, record and the like. Similarly, the window may provide an area on the display screen in which movies, takes, or particular scenes are displayed for the user to edit.
A computer controlled editing system may allow a user of the system to integrate source material from a variety of multi-media resources to generate an output sequence. One problem associated with computer editing systems is that the editing systems often fail to provide the user an organized and visual display of the source material available to create the output sequence. The source material is associated with a variety of variables, including time, speed and type of source. The user may find it very difficult to assimilate all of these different variables without an interface that provides an effective mechanism for conveying the values of these variables. As will be described, the present invention provides a user interface that effectively displays these variables so that a user may more easily manipulate the source material.
The problem of conveying the values of variables to a user is not unique to multi-media editors. Computer games, databases, communications and control programs and any number of other programs convey the values of a wide variety of variables.
As will be described, the present invention provides an interface that allows the users of these programs to quickly and easily determine the approximate or exact value of these variables.